Orchestration is the study or practice of writing music for an orchestra or of adapting music composed for another medium for an orchestra. Also called "instrumentation", orchestration is the assignment of different instruments to play the different parts of a musical work. For example, a work for solo piano could be adapted and orchestrated so that an orchestra could perform the piece, or a concert band piece could be orchestrated for a symphony orchestra.
A film score is original music written specifically to accompany a film. The score comprises a number of orchestral, instrumental, or choral pieces called cues, which are timed to begin and end at specific points during the film in order to enhance the dramatic narrative and the emotional impact of the scene in question. Scores are written by one or more composers under the guidance of or in collaboration with the film's director or producer and are then most often performed by an ensemble of musicians – usually including an orchestra or band, instrumental soloists, and choir or vocalists – known as playback singers – and recorded by a sound engineer. The term is less frequently applied to music written for media such as live theatre, television and radio programs, and video games, and said music is typically referred to as either the soundtrack or incidental music.
Stephen Lawrence Schwartz is an American musical theatre composer and lyricist. In a career spanning over five decades, Schwartz has written hit musicals such as Godspell (1971), Pippin (1972), and Wicked (2003). He has contributed lyrics to a number of successful films, including Pocahontas (1995), The Hunchback of Notre Dame (1996), The Prince of Egypt, and Enchanted (2007).
Alan Irwin Menken is an American composer and conductor, best known for his scores and songs for films produced by Walt Disney Animation Studios and Skydance Animation. Menken's contributions to The Little Mermaid (1989), Beauty and the Beast (1991), Aladdin (1992), and Pocahontas (1995) won him two Academy Awards for each film. He also composed the scores and songs for Little Shop of Horrors (1986), Newsies (1992), The Hunchback of Notre Dame (1996), Hercules (1997), Home on the Range (2004), Enchanted (2007), Tangled (2010), and Disenchanted (2022), among others. His accolades include winning eight Academy Awards — becoming the second most prolific Oscar winner in the music categories after Alfred Newman, a Tony Award, eleven Grammy Awards, seven Golden Globe Awards, and a Daytime Emmy Award. Menken is one of twenty-one people to have won an Emmy, a Grammy, an Oscar and a Tony.
"Colors of the Wind" is a song written by composer Alan Menken and lyricist Stephen Schwartz for Walt Disney Pictures' 33rd animated feature film, Pocahontas (1995). The film's theme song, "Colors of the Wind" was originally recorded by American singer and actress Judy Kuhn in her role as the singing voice of Pocahontas. A pop ballad, the song's lyrics are about animism and respecting nature, finding its roots in indigenous Native American culture, perspectives which have later been adopted in both transcendentalist literature and New Age spirituality.
Wicked is a musical with music and lyrics by Stephen Schwartz and a book by Winnie Holzman. It is a loose adaptation of the 1995 Gregory Maguire novel Wicked: The Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of the West, which in turn is based on L. Frank Baum's 1900 novel The Wonderful Wizard of Oz and its 1939 film adaptation. The musical is told from the perspective of two witches, Elphaba and Galinda, before and after Dorothy's arrival in Oz. The story explores the complex friendship between Elphaba and Galinda. Their relationship is tested by their contrasting personalities, conflicting viewpoints, shared love interest, reactions to the corrupt rule of the Wonderful Wizard, and ultimately, Elphaba's tragic fall.
"For Good" is a musical number from the hit musical Wicked. It is sung as a duet between Elphaba and Glinda as a farewell. The song's score and lyrics were written by composer Stephen Schwartz.
"So Close" is a song written by composer Alan Menken and lyricist Stephen Schwartz for the musical fantasy film Enchanted (2007), recorded by American singer Jon McLaughlin. In the film, the song is performed by McLaughlin as himself, a band vocalist, musically accompanying main characters Giselle and Robert as they dance together at a costume ball. The song's lyrics describe both their relationship with each other, as well as Giselle's journey and growth as a character.
Colin Welford is an English composer for stage and screen, conductor, orchestrator and music director based in the United States.
Kung Fu Panda (Music from the Motion Picture) is the score album to the 2008 film Kung Fu Panda. The album features original score composed by Hans Zimmer and John Powell, and a cover of the disco song "Kung Fu Fighting" performed by CeeLo Green and Jack Black (who also plays Po, the lead character). The album consisted of traditional and orchestral score, infused with Chinese music, where Zimmer visited China to study the traditions and culture. As a process, the score was recorded with mostly Chinese traditional instruments, and the China National Symphony Orchestra also performed the score. The 17-track album was released by Interscope Records on June 3, 2008.
Alex Lacamoire is a Cuban-American composer, arranger, conductor, musical director, music copyist, and orchestrator who has worked on many shows both on and off-Broadway. He is the recipient of multiple Tony and Grammy Awards for his work on shows such as In the Heights (2008), Hamilton (2016), and Dear Evan Hansen (2017). Lacamoire was awarded the Kennedy Center Honor in 2018.
John Powell is an English composer best known for his film scores. He has been based in Los Angeles since 1997 and has composed the scores to over 70 feature films. He is best known for composing score for films, including Face/Off, the Bourne film series, the Happy Feet films, United 93, X-Men: The Last Stand, Evolution, Dr. Seuss' The Lorax, Migration, Drumline, Hancock, The Call of the Wild, Bolt, eight Blue Sky Studios films, and nine DreamWorks Animation films.
Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince is the soundtrack to the 2009 film of the same name, written and composed by Nicholas Hooper. The score was conducted by Hooper and Alastair King. It is the second Harry Potter film to be scored by Hooper, who also composed the score for the previous film in the series, Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix. The soundtrack was released on 14 July 2009, a day before the film's release, and was nominated for a Grammy Award for Best Score Soundtrack Album for a Motion Picture.
Timothy Williams is an English/Canadian composer, conductor, and orchestrator known for his film, television, and video game scores. A graduate of the National Film and Television School, Williams has won numerous awards and is best known for his award winning work on the A24 film Pearl, Finding You, Brightburn, Get Out, Guardians of the Galaxy, Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2, Deadpool 2 and Robert Duvall's Wild Horses. He is a frequent collaborator of musician and composer Tyler Bates, Robert Duncan and Benjamin Wallfisch.
Stephen Oremus is an American musician who has worked on Broadway theatre productions as musical director and as orchestrator. His credits include arranger and orchestrator for the music for Avenue Q, musical director and arranger for Wicked, arranger and orchestrator for All Shook Up, and musical director for 9 to 5. His orchestrations for The Book of Mormon won him a Tony Award in 2011, for Best Orchestrations. Oremus also won the Tony Award for Best Orchestrations for Kinky Boots.
Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack) is the film score to the 2016 film of the same name, composed by James Newton Howard. A limited edition vinyl was first released on 4 November 2016. The soundtrack was later released in both digital and physical formats on 18 November 2016 by WaterTower Music.
Wicked is an upcoming American epic musical fantasy film directed by Jon M. Chu, and written by Winnie Holzman and Dana Fox. It is the first of a two-part film adaptation of the acclaimed stage musical of the same name by Stephen Schwartz and Holzman, which in turn was based on the 1995 novel of the same name by Gregory Maguire and characters from L. Frank Baum's 1900 novel The Wonderful Wizard of Oz. The film stars Cynthia Erivo and Ariana Grande, with Michelle Yeoh, Jeff Goldblum, Jonathan Bailey, Ethan Slater, Marissa Bode, Bowen Yang, Bronwyn James, Keala Settle, and Peter Dinklage in supporting roles. Set in the Land of Oz, largely before Dorothy Gale's arrival from Kansas, the plot covers the events of the musical's first act, following green-skinned Elphaba's studies at Shiz University and the beginning of her path to ultimately becoming the Wicked Witch of the West, alongside an unlikely friendship with a classmate who later becomes Glinda the Good Witch of the North.
Edward Benson Powell was an American arranger, orchestrator and composer, who served as Alfred Newman's musical lieutenant at 20th Century Fox film studios for over three decades. His contributions to the scores of 400 films culminated in the canon of widescreen Rodgers and Hammerstein musicals of the late 1950s, for which his arrangements, such as the extended "Carousel Waltz", continue to be revived in concerts and proms, as well as live-to-classic pictures. Powell was occasionally credited as Ed or without the middle initial, but his friends invariably called him Eddie.
Wicked Part Two is an upcoming American epic musical fantasy film directed by Jon M. Chu, and written by Winnie Holzman and Dana Fox. The sequel to Wicked (2024), it is the second of a two-part film adaptation of the stage musical of the same name by Stephen Schwartz and Holzman, which in turn was based on the 1995 novel of the same name by Gregory Maguire and characters from L. Frank Baum's 1900 novel The Wonderful Wizard of Oz. The film stars Cynthia Erivo and Ariana Grande, with Michelle Yeoh, Jeff Goldblum, Jonathan Bailey, Ethan Slater, Marissa Bode, Bowen Yang, Bronwyn James, Keala Settle, and Peter Dinklage in supporting roles. Set in the Land of Oz, before and after Dorothy Gale's arrival from Kansas, the plot will cover the events of the musical's second act, following Elphaba and Glinda's friendship being put to the test as they embrace their new respective identities as the Wicked Witch of the West and Glinda the Good Witch of the North, and how the consequences of their actions will change all of Oz forever.
Treasure Planet (An Original Walt Disney Records Soundtrack) is the soundtrack album to the 2002 animated science fiction action-adventure film Treasure Planet. The album features seventeen tracks – fifteen tracks from the score composed by James Newton Howard, and also featured two pop singles: "I'm Still Here" and "Always Know Where You Are". Walt Disney Records released the film's soundtrack album on November 19, 2002. The film's score received positive critical reception, with praise directed on Howard's composition.
